The “aged queen of French cathedrals,” Victor Hugo called Notre-Dame. And ancient it was – nearly 700 years had passed since the Bishop Maurice de Sully decided that Paris needed a cathedral worthy of France’s capital. “Every face, every stone of the venerable monument,” Hugo continued, “is a page not only of the history of the country but also of the history of science and art.” Here, National Book Award Winner Richard Winston tells the dramatic story of the building of the great cathedral and the history that was made there – from the marriage of Mary Queen of Scots to the crowning of Napoleon to Charles de Gaulle’s celebration of the liberation of Paris from the Nazis.